February 2025

Feasts are such a great way to remember important events. Not only do you take some time to slow down and actually meditate on a special occasion, but it’s almost always done together (like the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). The addition of food gives you something tangible to activate all the senses. There […]

It probably goes without saying, but idolatry was a huge issue throughout the history of Israel. Virtually every book has something to say about the problem, whether it’s failure to destroy the institutions, intermarriage with people that worshipped them, or even placing idols in the court of the Temple itself (Ezekiel 8:3-4). Where did all

As a child of God, you’re going to have to get used to standing alone. In a crowded room, you may be the only one holding your faith. In a group of friends, you may be the only one that doesn’t practice sin. It’s a part of life. The herd mentality is hard to push

If you’ve never heard the word “usury” before, you may think it’s another character that pops up somewhere in Exodus. Technically, the term usury doesn’t make it’s first appearance until Nehemiah 5:7, but the concept dates back to the beginning of the Hebrew nation, found here in Exodus 22:25. Usury is defined as simply lending

To most modern readers, the rules in the first five books of the Old Testament seem old-fashioned and, quite frankly, out of date. They claim that today is a “different world” with “advanced people.” The religious part of that group will say that we live under a different covenant (which is true), and therefore the

You can think about your life in a lot of ways, but one of the best (in my opinion) is that of a steward. We’re entrusted with our lives, possessions, other people, and, most importantly, our souls. How do we take care of them? It’s not just God that gives us things to take care

For most of my life, I never thought about having a home security system. I grew up in Texas, so the natural assumption was that home invasions were generally discouraged, since it was a given most homeowners were armed (and usually, very well-armed). It wasn’t until we had our first son that I started thinking

One of the tenets of Scripture is that the person who sins will be responsible for their sins. It’s mentioned emphatically in Ezekiel 18, and is repeated throughout the New Testament. If you sin, you will answer for those sins, not anyone else’s. Unless, that is, you have an ox that happens to kill someone.

It’s sometimes hard to make sense of the justice of God. But make no mistake: If it’s confusing or seems excessive to us, the problem is with us, not God. Take the laws in Exodus 21, for instance. Some of them are deliberately intense. The person who “strikes” or “curses” their parent is executed (Exodus